A Different Path
by LokiTheLion
Summary: Everyone knows that Raito and L were rivals. But what if L hadn't strived to catch Kira? What if he, instead, wanted to help him?  No pairings as of now, but may change. PM me. Or just review.
1. Chapter 1: A Different Reaction

A/N: Um… hi. This is the first fic that I've written for a long time. My other ones have all been deleted, as they sucked. A lot. I really hope this one doesn't suck as much, but I can but hope. I've been looking for a fic where L joins Raito, but I haven't found any so far. If you know any, please message them to me. Also, this is the only one that I actually have an idea of how to end, as well. The other ones have just been me writing whatever came to my mind. So, with that said, I bring you…

Chapter 1: A Different Reaction

_My pen scribbled across the paper. Another one dead. Those criminals didn't deserve to live, anyways. Soon, I, Yagami Raito, shall be god, the God of a New World. There will be no one to stop me, and I shall mold this pathetic excuse of a world into something better, a world of peace…_

._.

Raito sat back in his chair, satisfied that he had gotten much done that day. In all, he had killed 192 criminals that day only, adding to his ever-growing list of deaths. _Soon, _he thought, _the world shall be mine! _ Ryuk just stared at him, chuckling silently to himself about how brilliant he was to "accidentally" drop his Death Note into the human realm. Now, if only he could get his hands on some apples…

._.

Meanwhile, Yagami Soichiro was at a rather important meeting, one involving the great detective, L.

"What do you mean, you refuse to take up this case?" Soichiro exclaimed, confused that L turned down such an important case, the case of the mass murderer, Kira. "He's killed hundreds, maybe thousands, and you won't do a thing about it?"

"Not quite," Responded an electronically altered voice. "But since he's limited his killings to highly dangerous criminals, why should I stop him? He's helped my cases, actually. I refuse to hunt him down and arrest him." In his rage, Soichiro missed the fact that L said he would do something, just not hunt him down to stop him.

"Preposterous!" raged Soichiro. "What if he starts killing innocents after he gets bored of killing criminals? It'll be too late then! We must act now, to save lives of those who may be killed! How is he able to murder those across the world in such a short period of time, anyways? We could acquire new technology from him if we catch him, as well!" He glared at the gigantic "L" projected on the wall, as if that would make any difference.

"Wow," said L, with a hint of annoyance in his voice. "You haven't thought this through at all. If you go after him, you may very likely anger him, directing his efforts to yourself instead. This would not only endanger your lives, but slow his dealings with criminals as well. In addition, many nations have already started respecting this "mass-murderer," as you call him. Or her. Chasing after Kira may interfere with our relations with those countries."

"B-but," Soichiro spluttered. "I-I won't allow him to take any innocent lives! Regardless of whether you, L, will help us or not, I will lead an investigation team and find this "Kira." All who do not want to join me leave this room at once, as unwilling people will be a hindrance to this case."

"May I add that it will also endanger your life," L's artificially voice added. "Kira does know how to kill, you know." Soichiro cursed inwardly at this, since he knew that this would cut down the number willing to help him on the case dramatically.

The rest of the gathered people, who had just quietly watched Soichiro argue with L, talked amongst themselves, discussing whether or not to join the case. One by one, they exited the room. At the end, only five, not including Soichiro (and Watari, who was their liaison with L) remained. They were Matsuda Touta, Aizawa Shuichi, Mogi Kanzo, and Ide Hideki. Soichiro looked slightly disappointed at the lack of people, but decided it was, at least, better than no one at all.

"Well then, gentlemen, let's start?" declared Soichiro. "As we have no clue as to where this Kira character is located, we should first investigate different parts of Japan, since that's where the initial murders started."

._.

On the other side of the laptop computer screen, L shook his head. _Not too smart, are they? _ He thought. He had already a general idea where Kira was. However, he did not wish to get in his way. What he wanted to do was exactly the opposite. He wanted to _join _whoever this "Kira" was, getting rid of criminals left and right. Staring at a laptop all day for days on end was beginning to get boring, and he wanted to try something new.

He began making plans to find Kira, and intended to find him soon. L gathered his thoughts, and began to use his genius mind to locate Kira.

_Hm… according to my research, Kira should be in the Kanto religion of Japan. Since he has been able to get names of many criminals unknown to most of the population, he should either have connections with the police, or is a very experienced hacker .I shall investigate the former first, but to do that, I would have to go out in public. Or maybe, I can reemploy that FBI agent, since I remember she had Japanese origins. If I remember correctly, her name was… Naomi Misora._

._.

A/N: And that's it for chapter one. I apologize for the shortness. Feel free to review or message me ideas you may have, since I don't get much mail. Or you could review/message me just because. =) I'll try to update as soon as I can, which may be the coming weekend. I will try, but no guarantees.

As for characters in Death Note, I like most characters except for Misa and Near. I also dislike Soichiro for some reason. Because of this, they will not be seen in a very good light. Heck, Misa isn't even going to be in this fanfict. So yeah.

I don't care much for flames, but they're still reviews. I'll welcome them with open arms. =D


	2. Chapter 2: Death of L?

A/N: 3 reviews! I got reviews! Yay! Even if it was only 3! Ah, I like exclamation points. But much thanks to the three reviewers Latethecookie, Frances Lawilet, and DarkAngelJudas!

Sorry for the late update, but my internet was messed up. From now on, I'll update every one or two weeks, or so, depending on my time. Without further ado, I give you:

Chapter 2: Death of L?

._.

After another argument with her fiancé, Reye Penber, Misora Naomi was, again, laying on her bed thinking. As always, the argument was about whether she should continue her job as an FBI agent. _Seriously, _she thought. _What kind of person wants to stay home all day, cooking, or something? Ugh, stupid stereotypes. _Still, Reye had succeeded in getting her out of the FBI. Now, she just stayed in her apartment, located in Los Angeles, and lay there half the time. Life was boring for Misora Naomi at this point in time.

Her laptop was laying open a couple feet away from her bed. When it suddenly _beeped_ to signal a newly received email, Naomi nearly fell off her bed in shock. She lazily walked over to her laptop and clicked on the email:

_Dear Misora-san:_

_I have another case that requires your assistance. If you would like to accept, please reply to this email stating you would like to do so. If not, don't reply at all. You have a span of 12 hours to reply. I hope to work with you again._

_L_

_P.S. Please don't forget to delete this message and destroy this computer within 24 hours. Thanks!_

This both pleased and annoyed Naomi. She was happy that she could stop lying around at home now, but pissed off because her laptop was, again, new. She cursed her luck that L kept emailing her just as she got new laptops. She quickly replied with a simple "yes" to the email. Less than a minute later, she received another message from L.

_Misora-san:_

_Thank you for accepting. In around a day, you will receive a new cell phone. Please tell no one its number, nor use it to call anyone else other than me. It will have my telephone number in the address list. You will receive further instructions then. In the meantime, I suggest you pack your belongings, since I will require you to go to a different country. This should be fine, since you are no longer in the FBI. Of course, tell no one that you are assisting me on a case. Again, I thank you for your assistance, as it will be very helpful._

_L_

_P.S. And don't forget about the destroying the computer and deleting the email._

"Huh." Naomi thought out loud. "I'm going to have to travel out of the country. I wonder where." She hastily packed all of her belongings, not that she had much. Then, she took her laptop, leaned out of the window(she lived on the 3rd floor), made sure there was no one below, and dropped the portable computer, breaking it.

._.

Raito sat at his desk, eating potato chips. _I wonder if Dad will try to find Kira, _He thought. Raito hoped not. He really didn't want to lie too much to his family, even if he wasn't all that close to his dad. He sighed and took out the death note. _I wonder how much I can get done today…_

._.

_Ding-dong! _A packaged arrived at Misora Naomi's apartment. _Finally,_ she thought, _it must be the cell phone._ She dashed to the door and pulled it open. Sure enough, a small rectangular box lay on the floor. She hurriedly opened it and took out the phone. It already had full batteries and didn't need charging, so she found the address list and called L.

"Hello?" she asked.

"Misora Naomi?" a familiar electronic voice responded.

"Yes. I received the phone," Naomi replied.

"Obviously, or you wouldn't be talking to me, would you?"

"Uh… yea. You said you would give me further instructions?"

"Ah… yes. The case I'm on is the Kira case," L said. "But, I don't plan on stopping him; I just want to find him for now." He decided telling her half the truth would be better than lying or telling the whole truth.

"Th-the Kira case? The one with the killer that kills only criminals? THE Kira?" Naomi spluttered.

"No, a DIFFERENT Kira," L replied, though the sarcasm could even be heard despite the electronically generated voice. "What other Kiras do you know of?"

Naomi face-palmed and L continued to tell her of the case and what she was to do.

"So," L finished, "come to Japan and meet me at the address that is attached to the cardboard box this cell phone came in. We shall meet then. Oh and there's an airplane ticket in there too." He then hung up.

Misora Naomi closed the phone, and then diverted her gaze to the box. There were indeed two scraps of paper in there. She pocketed the paper with the address, and read the airplane ticket. It left the next day at 2 P.M. At least she wouldn't have to wake up to early, since it only took half an hour or so to get to the international airport.

With this she looked at her watch. 11:39 P.M. It was getting late, and she went to bed, despite her excitement.

._.

_Ah, good. Seems like she will help me. _L thought. _Now, to fake my death so that no one would be suspicious that L would be inactive for too long. Hm… I must think of a good story… Ah, I've got it!_

"Watari!" L called.

"Yes?" replied the elderly man.

"Tell the world that L has died, and the details will be not revealed due to security purposes. I quit being L, but don't tell anyone of the truth, I beg of you. Name Near as the successor, please."

Watari looked almost shocked, but respected the younger man's decision. He knew of L's strong sense of justice, and knew that L had a good reason to quit. He nodded and went off to spread the false news.

._.

Meanwhile, Near was sitting on the floor, surrounded by his rather impressive giant building of dice. He had just started building another tower, when he heard Roger calling him to the office. He sighed and looked around. _Drat, _he thought, _I forgot to leave a space for me to exit. _ So he kicked over a section of dice and stepped out.

He walked to Roger's office and found him and Mello sitting at the desk waiting for him. "Near, Mello, I have saddening news for you both," Roger started. His next words sent Mello falling off his chair and Near's usually stoic face into an almost-panic. "L is dead."

"What? How?" Mello yelled from the floor.

"And his successor?" Near calmly asked, composing himself.

"He had named his successor as you, Near." Roger replied. "Sorry Mello, but L's words, not mine."

"WHAT?" Mello fumed. "He wants that introverted albino midget as his successor? Why?"

"Because I am intellectually better than you," stated Near. "Thus, I am successor. Ha." He had a rather smug look on his face.

Mello stormed out of the room. "Well, at least I turned 18 a month ago. Goodbye, but I'm leaving. Hmph."

Roger and Near watched him walk out. _That could have gone better, _thought Roger. _Oh well._

"Near, you are now to replace L. Watari is currently in Japan. He wants you to go there as soon as possible," Roger told the white-haired genius. "Here's the address. You should go pack and get ready."

Near took the slip of paper with the address on it and turned to go pack, but stopped when Roger spoke again.

"Oh, and as for the most possible reason for L's death," Roger told Near, "I heard that it's probably Kira." Near's eyes narrowed.

"Very well," he said. "We'll see." He left without another word.

._.

A/N: There. This chapter was a bit longer than the last one by a couple hundred words. Total word count of the story minus A/N's is 1,272. I could go on, but it would delay this update even more. Like most other authors, I'd like reviews. I'd also appreciate ideas. If you have one, please message it to me and I'll try my best to incorporate it into this story. Thanks! =D


	3. Chapter 3: Identity Revealed? No?

I'm soooo sorry for the late update. I know I said one or two weeks in the last chapter, but I went on vacation last week and my family went to Yellowstone. I've re-decided that I'll update around once every month, since I'm really busy these couple of weeks. Sorry!

Chapter 3: Identity Revealed? Or maybe not.

._.

Misora Naomi was not happy. She liked good food, and the Japanese airplane food sucked. Seriously, they needed better food. Despite this, she was anxious to meet the great L. She wondered what he'd be like.  
>She thought back to the first time she worked with him, and the criminal of that case: Rue Ryukazi. She'd been intrigued by that man, and was shocked when she figured out he was the serial killer. She kept reminiscing about that case, and gradually fell asleep.<p>

._.

"Come on, Matt. We're leaving!" hollered Mello, stomping by his friend's room.  
>Matt sighed but still replied. "Coming!" He hastily, but carefully, packed his belongings. He couldn't forget his precious video games or cigarettes. That would be bad. He hurried to catch up with the already-packed blond.<p>

"So, uh, where're we going?" Matt asked his best friend. He knew they had been planning to leave the Wammy House for a long time, but never really thought about what they would do or where they would go.

"I have that all planned out," replied Mello with a smug grin. He had a feeling that Near would take up the Kira case, but deep inside, Mello liked the killings. I mean hey, killing hundreds of criminals a day was pretty cool. Well, it did to him anyway. "We," continued Mello, "will go search for this Kira and find him before Near does." He dashed down the street, only to trip and fall on something that he knew for sure wasn't there before. He bent down to get a closer look at it.

_Hm… it's a… black notebook?_

._.

Meanwhile, the Kira Investigation team received an interesting call.

"I am N, and I would like to assist your group in the capture of Kira," an artificially created voice said. It sounded like L's, but was slightly higher in pitch.

"N?" Soichiro questioned. "We would greatly appreciate your help in this case, but first you must prove to use that you are not Kira or someone working for Kira."

_Looks like these people aren't complete fools, then. They might actually be able to help me in capturing Kira, since I cannot go out in public. Alright, let's see how they have me prove that I'm not that mass murderer, _Near thought.

"Alright, how would you like me to prove that?" Near responded.

"Simple," replied Soichiro. "Just, uh…. give us a minute please. Team, how do we have him prove to us that he's innocent?" The last part was whispered frantically to the rest of the team. Somewhere else, Near fought the urge to facepalm himself.

"If you cannot have me prove I'm not Kira to you, how about I share some information that I have collected and explain it to you? That should make you people believe me, anyways."

Soichiro's face turned red, but had no choice but to agree to this.

"I have gathered that Kira must be either related to someone in the police, or is a very experienced hacker. Maybe even both. This is because he has killed some criminals whose identity has not been released to the public. This is unless Kira possesses powers to kill criminals that he does not know about. I doubt this is the reason, though, since only criminals with names in the beginning of the alphabet have died from heart attacks similar to how he kills. I also have confirmed that he is either a student or a person whose working hours are similar to the class times of a student. This is because no deaths have occurred during these times. This also leads me to believe his method of killing requires something that cannot be done in public, or would be very hard to," explained Near to the stunned police members. "Now, do you lot believe me now, or do I need to do more?"

._.

Raito was currently enjoying his potato chips while conversing with thin air. Or at least that was how it would seem if there was anyone watching him that did not know of the Shinigami. In reality, he was discussing some things relating to the Death Note with Ryuk.

"Hey Ryuk, are there any more of these Death Notes here on Earth?" asked Raito.

"I dunno. It depends if any other Shinigami dropped theirs like I did. And if they did, had any human picked it up," Replied Ryuk. "I think there might be a couple, though, since the Shinigami realm is really boring. You humans are so much more fun."

"So other Death Note users probably would know how I've been killing criminals, right? By the way, could they see you, too?" wondered Raito.

"Yea, they probably would know. But they can't see me. Only people who have touched that Death Note would be able to see me. They can only see their Death Note's Shinigami," explained Ryuk.

"Hm… that's good," murmured Raito. "It's good that no one has seen you floating around me outside. If they did, THAT would be bad."

._.

Misora Naomi was still asleep, when she felt like she was falling. She woke up with a start, only to find out that the falling sensation was due to the fact that the plane was landing. Relieved, Naomi shook her head, still sleepy. There was no need for her to put anything away; she didn't have anything out, since her possessions weren't much, anyways. Everything she needed had fit in a carry-on suitcase, and she was thankful for this, since it was more convenient to not have to wait for luggage.

Anyways, the plane landed soon after, and Naomi went through security and everything. She exited the airport and went about searching for the bakery L had told her to go to. She had wondered quite a long time as to why L wanted to meet her in a bakery that specialized in making strawberry cakes, but ended up deciding that L had his own reasons and that it wouldn't look suspicious or something.

She quickly located it in the middle of the more busy part of town. _So much for inconspicuous,_ she thought. She entered the door and was met by a sight that scared the heck out of her.

"You…?"

._.

And that's the end of chapter 3. Again, I apologise for the lack of update, but I don't has as much time to write in the summer, ironically. I'll start working on the next chapter immediately! Oh, and….. REVIEW? =3


	4. Chapter 4: Finally Free

Chapter 4: Finally Free

Mello sat in his room, alone. He and Matt had rented a small apartment somewhere in China, and were currently living there. They had no idea why they were in China; they had just flown there because the airplane tickets were cheap, and they liked it, so they decided to stay there for a while. Thus, the rented apartment.

Anyway, Mello was looking through the Death Note that he had picked up a few days ago, but had not bothered to read yet, since he was so mad at Near.

_Hm… _he thought. _This could be useful. Ugh, if only I knew that sheep Near's real name!_

Obviously, he didn't, so he gave up on that idea. Then it hit him.

_Wait a second… If one's name is written in the Death Note, he or she will die of a heart attack in 40 seconds. Heart attack… KIRA!_

Mello grinned. He had figured out how Kira killed. Before Near!

"Matt!" Mello shouted. "C'mere! I gotta tell you something important!"

._.

Naomi Misora was in shock. She couldn't believe that across the table from her, sat a mass murderer, the culprit of the LABB serial murders, who was sipping coffee from a pink tea cup while eating a piece of strawberry cake. She thought that he'd been locked up in a prison for life!

"You seem surprised," L said in a monotone. "There is a 83% chance that you have mistaken me for Beyond Birthday. Or as you know him as, Rue Ryuzaki. I assure you, I am not him, and he is safely locked up in a prison on the other side of the world."

Right as he said that, a TV in the corner of bakery started to show the news.

"_Today, there has been a mass prison breakout in America. Many former murderers, robbers, and drug dealers have broken out. Please do not panic, but stay aware. Thank you."_ The screen then showed pictures of some of the prison runaways. Coincidentally, one was of B. (A/N: I'll be calling Beyond "B" from now on, 'kay?)

Naomi glanced at L warily, while he just sighed.

"I take back what I just said about him being safely locked up. But still, you can be certain that I am not B," L tried to reassure her.

"Alright… I believe you," Naomi said, as she remembered the email L had sent her, and realized it was written in the same style as the first one she had received from L. "Now, your instructions?"

"First, please do not address me as "L" in public. Call me Ryuuga. I don't need people to know my identity. Second, I need you to find a person. I cannot find him or her by myself, as it would require me to reveal myself to the public, and I cannot risk that."

"Okay. So, who do you need me to find…?" Naomi took a sip out of her own pink tea cup.

"Kira."

The FBI agent spit out her coffee, half in surprise and half because it had excessive amounts of sugar added to it again, much like that time with Ryuzaki.

Recovering, she asked him, "Kira? The one supposedly responsible for killing criminals via heart attacks? Do you have any leads on him?"

L briefly told her his findings about Kira, and she nodded in understanding.

"So he's in the Kantou region. And he's a student. Or she. The most important question is _how_ he's committing all these murders. I doubt he's going around the world adding excess salt to all criminals' food or something like that." Naomi offhandedly commented.

._.

Near was sitting in the middle of a tower of dice again. This time, he remembered to add a door so he could get out. Unfortunately for him, surrounding that tower of dice was a fortress of cards, which he forgot to add a door to. Mentally slapping himself, Near wondered what the heck he was thinking about when he built the fort.

Maybe he was thinking to hard about L's murderer.

His giant monitor blinked to life, and a giant Old English Font "B" showed up on the screen.

"What the—" Near began. He knew about the prison breakout and how B had escaped, but he didn't expect B to contact him. He briefly wondered why the infamous Beyond Birthday would contact _HIM _out of all people, but then decided to ask the man himself.

"B," he drawled monotonously. "What a surprise. What do you want from me?"

"What do I want from you?" B asked, amusement evident in his tone, even if it was just a computer generated voice. "L, of course. Unless you want to tell me that you actually thought that he had _died._ Keh, that man won't die that easily. Not someone who had beaten me before."

"What—" Near stuttered. He hadn't expected B to know about L's death, much less his… undeath, would it be called? Of course, he HAD known that L was still alive, but… still.

"Surprised?" chuckled B. "Don't think I'm stupid just because I'm a criminal and got caught. If I were at Wammy's house when you were, I'd definitely be ahead of you. Anyway, I came to ask for an alliance. For this Kira business. "

Near blinked. _An alliance? With B? _

This could be beneficial for him, but did he really want to trust this murderer to help him catch Kira? Of course, B had only murdered three people, compared with the hundreds that had already fallen to Kira's mysterious heart attacks, but B's attacks had been directed at the innocent. B's murdered had no purpose other than challenging L, while Kira actually had a –somewhat—noble purpose. But then again, he could sympathize with B's want to challenge L; he had wanted to before, too…

"I accept," Near spoke into his microphone. "I will contact you with our information soon. Good bye."

Before B could reply, Near cut off the connection, and turned back to his cube towers. He sighed.

._.

OMG. Guys, I'm REALLY sorry about the VERY late update. I went on vacation after I posted the last chapter, and after that, I haven't had much inspiration. I'm soooo sorry. D:

And I know that the writing style somewhat changed in the middle of the chapter. That is what a half-year's pause does to my writing. Sorry again!


End file.
